Dramatic appeal by the Catholic bishops of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

WE CANNOT ACCEPT THAT WE MUST DISAPPEAR

We, the Catholic bishops of the Vrhbosna Metropoly in Bosnia -Herzegovina, the Archbishop of Sarajevo VINKO PULJIC, with his assistant bishop PERO SUDAR, the Bishop of Banja Luka FRANJO KOMARICA, the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkanj RATKO PERIC, gathered in Rome on the occasion of the nomination of the Archbishop of Vrhbosna to Cardinal, once again forward a fervent appeal to the entire Catholic Church and the world public to stop the three year war tragedy and to revive the regions of our four dioceses.

1. The Catholic Church, which is deeply rooted in the Croatian people since the beginning of their settling in the region of Bosnia-Herzegovina more than 13 centuries ago, has throughout its history experienced many rises and falls. During the Ottoman Empire in the mid 15^th century in Bosnia-Herzegovina, more than 89% of the population was Catholic. Since then the number of Croat Catholics has been steadily decreasing either because of the Turkish persecution or with the coming of the Serbs or other political and economic motives. In 1991, only 18% of the population in Bosnia-Herzegovina was Catholic.

2 . In autumn 1991, we were suddenly hit by a war of aggression against some Croatian towns in the south-east of Herzegovina while in the spring of 1992, Bosnia was attacked by the Yugoslav Peoples’ Army which had been melted down into a Serbian army. From their Serbian strongholds in some sections of Bosnia-Herzegovina, they caused grave damages to the lives of the entire non-Serb population. Horrific ethnic cleansing, genocide and various forms of violence, including the shameless rape of thousands of women, compelled a multitude of non-Serbs to flee to exile and find shelter abroad while the remainder of our diocese found itself confined to an area less than thirty percent of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Seeing that we were faced with an invasion, a territorial war aimed at the annihilation of the non-Serb population and the destruction of its national and cultural identity, added to the unlikelihood that things would revert to the way they were, we were, unfortunately, witness to armed conflicts between the Croat and Muslim peoples in some sections of our country. This conflict deepened wounds which had existed previously and has heightened negative repercussions in people. The Washington Agreement of 18 March 1994 ended this bloody conflict, however, it has not been able to reinstate confidence between the two nations and a feeling of a healthy and productive coexistence.

3. The repercussions of this bloody multi-national conflict are more than horrifying for the Catholic Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina which has from the very beginning systematically defended ethnic principles and ethnic rights for all people and nations. Of the 830,000 Catholics in Bosnia-Herzegovina only half remain.

- Two-thirds of the Croat Catholics have been driven out of the Sarajevo Archdiocese together with their priests. Before the war there were more than 520,000 Catholics. Of the 144 parishes there remain 90 - without their faithful, priests or churches. Three priests have been killed.

- The Banja Luka Diocese consisted of virtually 120,000 Catholics who tried to avoid any conflict at all costs. More than two-thirds of the faithful have been driven out. Of the 47 parishes only eight are in a position to operate normally. Three diocesan priests have been killed.
- In the Mostar-Duvno Diocese, of the 180,000 Catholics almost 20,000 are in exile. Of the 66 parishes, 9 are partially or totally occupied with no outlook that their parishioners will be able to return in the foreseeable future.
- Of the 17,000 faithful in the Trebinje Diocese, only 4,000 remain and of its 15 parishes, 6 are under occupation or are located on the front lines.

In two dioceses in Herzegovina there are more than 50,000 refugees being housed from central Bosnia. Some are living in completely unliveable conditions.

4. The war of aggression in Bosnia-Herzegovina is continuing even now. But due to their own interests the various world political forces - the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the US Administration - have expressed their own particular views on this matter via their various “peace” programmes including the most recent initiative by the Contact Group, which varies from human and moral indifference to political submission or open support for this inhumane project by the aggressor. But now it appears that they all seem to approve of the virtual victory of all this senselessness, evil, oppression of ethnic principles, human, national and religious rights and civil liberties.

5. We, the bishops of the Catholic Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina know that there were numerous Croats who through the turbulent centuries contributed with their suffering to the spiritual state and growth of the Church, Christ’s body, and were often the targets of injustice. However, we cannot accept that today, for all the civilised world to see, we must completely disintegrate, be ethnically cleansed from our historical homeland. For this reason, we appeal to the Bishops’ conferences around Europe and the world to send their representatives to our dioceses who will be able to be convinced of the truth and the truly climactic situation and indeed the weight of our pleas. We also ask them to undertake measures with their various governments so that Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has been internationally recognised, be preserved as a complete country and that:

- ethnic cleansing in the regions of Bosnia-Herzegovina not be legalised but annulled;
- human rights not be placed as part of someone’s war power or weaponry;
- all displaced persons be allowed to return to their homes with complete assurance of their human, national and religious identity.

6. Even though we are hungry, barefoot and naked, persecuted and humiliated, and as such in need of every form of material aid, we ask members of the Catholic Church for more than this; we ask them and the world community to treat us as people and believers with a right to fundamental human and religious rights and we ask for security to ensure this rights.